Legislator Score / Vote

2012: 112th Congress 68%

The bill would repeal the Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) Act. The CLASS Act is the long-term care entitlement, which even the Dept. of Health and Human Services admits is prohibitively expensive. Voting to repeal CLASS at this time advances the larger goal of fully repealing President Obama's unworkable Affordable Care Act.

"Yea" votes scored.

2: H.R. 3578 - To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to reform the budget baseline✔ Yea

Key Vote 2: H.R. 3578 - To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to reform the budget baseline

The bill would reform the way that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) calculates the baseline spending assumptions that are the basis for all of its projections of future spending. The legislation would remove the assumption from CBO calculations that spending will increase each year in proportion to inflation, which makes Congress’ new spending each year look like less than it is. The Baseline Reform Act would make the federal budget process more honest and transparent.

FreedomWorks opposes this bill. It would allow the Department of Commerce to continue issuing countervailing duty (CVD) on imports from China, Vietnam and other countries deemed non-market economies (NMEs). H.R. 4105 would hurt U.S. consumers and importers while further escalating a trade war with China. Like other taxes, the cost of tariffs, including “countervailing duties” are only paid by consumers.

The amendment would replace Paul Ryan's budget proposal, which does not balance until after 2040, with the Republican Study Committee's alternative proposal, which would balance in five years. The RSC's budget also simplifies the tax code, reforms Medicare and Social Security, and caps federal spending at just below 2008 levels. The RSC budget is the kind of aggressive but workable reform we need in order to get America back on the path to fiscal sustainability.

This bill would keep student loan rates at 3.4 percent instead of allowing them to rise to their 2007 level of 6.8 percent. Artificially keeping student loan rates low not only costs taxpayers billions of dollars, it also distorts markets by encouraging students to take loans that they otherwise may not have been able to afford, which in turn encourages colleges to charge more for tuition.

"Nay" votes scored.

6: H.Amdt.1039 to H.R. 5326 - to eliminate the Economic Development Administration✔ Yea

This amendment would eliminate the Economic Development Administration (EDA), which is an obsolete program whose grants are being used by many Members of Congress to essentially create earmarks. Eliminating this useless program would also save over $500 million per year.

This amendment would reduce spending for each of the agencies funded by this bill by 12.2%, exempting certain key organizations such as the U.S. Marshals and the FBI. This would save $2.7 billion in FY 2014 and apply that money towards reducing the budget deficit.

"Yea" votes scored.

9: To Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended: H.R. 2072 - To reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, and for other purposes✔ Nay

Key Vote 9: To Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended: H.R. 2072 - To reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, and for other purposes

FreedomWorks opposes reauthorizing the Export-Import bank because it is essentially a corporate welfare program that hands out trade subsidies to politically connected companies. The government could better improve exports by reducing regulations and corporate taxation, which would render American manufacturing more competitive with the rest of the world.

This amendment would eliminate the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program, which directly subsidizes green energy companies. This program is pure corporate welfare, with the government picking winners and losers in the energy sector, and eliminating it would save taxpayers $1.45 billion annually.

"Yea" votes scored.

11: H.Amdt. 1185 to H.R. 5325 - To defund the Fossil Fuel Research and Development programs✔ Yea

Key Vote 11: H.Amdt. 1185 to H.R. 5325 - To defund the Fossil Fuel Research and Development programs

This amendment would eliminate much of the Department of Fossil Energy, another federal agency which uses taxpayer dollars to subsidize green energy research. This would save nearly half a billion dollars in 2013, and return more research and development to the private sector where it belongs.

"Yea" votes scored.

12: H.Amdt.1217 to H.R. 5325 - to cut $3.1 billion from Energy and Water appropriations.✔ Yea

This amendment would cut nearly 10% from the Energy and Water Appropriations bill, for an annual savings of $3.1 billion. This cut would comply with the Republican Study Committee's budget, which aims to balance the federal budget in five years.

"Yea" votes scored.

13: Motion to Instruct Conferees: H.R. 4348 - to require that transportation spending be capped.☐ Did Not Vote

This motion by Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) would instruct the House conferees to insist upon capping highway spending at the amount taken in by the gas tax. The gas tax was intended to be the sole revenue source for the Highway Trust Fund, but the federal government has routinely outspent their revenue supply in the past decades, requiring periodic bailouts of the Trust Fund.

"Yea" votes scored.

14: H.R. 5972 - Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development.☐ Did Not Vote

Key Vote 14: H.R. 5972 - Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development.

This bill provides funding for the Departments of Transportation and Housing & Urban Development. It increases funding for such unnecessary programs as Amtrak, the Essential Air Service, and community development block grants. The bill fails to make any real cuts to spending, in spite of the country's massive deficits.

"Nay" votes scored.

15: On the Conference Report: H.R. 4348 - To provide an extension of Federal-aid highway ... transit, and other programs☐ Did Not Vote

Key Vote 15: On the Conference Report: H.R. 4348 - To provide an extension of Federal-aid highway ... transit, and other programs

FreedomWorks opposes this bill because it reauthorizes federal highway spending at a level that far exceeds its revenue from the gas tax. This bill also includes an amendment which continues the artificial lowering of student loan rates, a practice which encourages students to incur debt that they cannot afford to pay back.

This bill would fully repeal the unaffordable and unpopular health care law popularly known as "ObamaCare". ObamaCare fails to either protect patients or make health care more affordable, and must be repealed and replaced with free-market, patient-centered reforms to bring competition into the industry and drive down costs for all consumers.

This amendment selectively cuts $1.07 billion from the Department of Defense's Appropriations, exempting military pay and benefits from any cuts. As the DoD accounts for over 40% of total discretionary spending, targeted cuts in defense spending will be necessary in order to ever balance the budget.

"Yea" votes scored.

18: H.R. 459 - To require a full audit of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal reserve banks ✔ Yea

Key Vote 18: H.R. 459 - To require a full audit of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal reserve banks

This bill would require the Comptroller of the United States to conduct a comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve, in order to determine where this powerful and notoriously opaque private agency has been allocating the U.S. money supply. Transparency in the Federal Reserve is an essential first step to reestablishing a sound monetary policy.

"Yea" votes scored.

19: H.R. 3409 - Stop the War on Coal Act☐ Did Not Vote

Key Vote 19: H.R. 3409 - Stop the War on Coal Act

This bill would prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from promulgating upcoming regulations that would devastate the coal industry and make it nearly impossible for many companies to develop new mines. Attacking coal development will massively increase the cost of energy over a large portion of the country, further straining resources in the midst of a weak economy.

This bill is the vehicle for the deal brokered by Senator McConnell and Vice President Biden to avert the "fiscal cliff". While it extends the 2001, 2003 and 2009 tax cuts and credits for most Americans, it allows them to expire on those earning over $450,000 per year. The bill also contains a $30 billion extension of unemployment benefits, and reauthorizes the 2008 Farm Bill for nine months.
H.R. 8 allows the payroll tax holiday to expire, effectively raising taxes on 77% of taxpayers, yet extends dozens of tax credits and deductions that amount to corporate welfare for special interests. It also fails to extend the Bush-era tax cuts to all Americans, thus raising taxes at a time when economic growth is desperately needed.

2011: 112th Congress 87%

Key Vote 1: H.R. 2 - Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act

The bill would fully repeal the deeply controversial “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (ObamaCare) passed in March 2010. ObamaCare will reduce the quality and drive up the cost of health care, and contains an unconstitutional mandate requiring Americans to purchase health care simply because they exist.

"Yea" votes scored.

2: H.Amdt.16 to H.R. 1 - To cut spending by $450 million✘ Nay

Key Vote 2: H.Amdt.16 to H.R. 1 - To cut spending by $450 million

This amendment would save taxpayers $450 million by cutting the development of the superfluous second engine for the F-35 fighter jet. The military already has one functioning engine for the F-35, and this second design is a wasteful payoff to defense contractors. Even the military says that this program is not necessary.

This bill would cut the EPA's science and technology budget by $64 million. EPA programs were given massive increases in funding in 2010, and were clearly over-funded. Many of these programs are redundant and wasteful, funding scientific studies that should be left to academia and the private sector.

This amendment prohibits the use of funds to pay any employee, officer, contractor, or grantee of any department or agency to implement the provisions of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also known as "ObamaCare."

This bill prevents the IRS from being allowed to enforce the penalty under ObamaCare for failing to enroll in a health insurance plan. Basically, this would make the unconstitutional individual mandate in ObamaCare powerless, as there would be no consequences for failing to comply with it.

This amendment would reduce all non-defense discretionary spending to 2006 levels, saving taxpayers billions of dollars in 2011 alone. This is by far the boldest of the spending cuts offered to the 2011 appropriations bill.

"Yea" votes scored.

11: H.Amdt.169 to H.R. 1 - to prevent the 2011 budget from being required to pay for inflated union wages✔ Yea

Key Vote 11: H.Amdt.169 to H.R. 1 - to prevent the 2011 budget from being required to pay for inflated union wages

This bill would prevent any projects in the 2011 budget from being required to comply with Davis-Bacon wage requirements. Davis-Bacon is a leftover from the New Deal era which costs taxpayers billions of dollars each year because it requires government contractors to pay "local prevailing wages" for every project, which usually leads to expensive union labor receiving the contracts.

"Yea" votes scored.

12: H.R. 1 - Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011✔ Yea

Key Vote 12: H.R. 1 - Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011

This omnibus appropriations bill for 2011 includes the largest single discretionary spending cut in history, cutting $106 billion from various programs and departments. While this is only a fraction of the cuts needed to rein in the government’s spending, it is a very good first step in the right direction.

This bill eliminates the 1099 reporting mandate from Obamacare. Due to a provision hidden in the 2,400 page health care law passed last March, businesses will be required to submit an IRS form 1099 for all goods and services purchased over $600 starting in 2012. This is a paperwork nightmare that will significantly hurt small businesses and cost an abundance of jobs, and must be repealed.

"Yea" votes scored.

14: H.R. 830 - FHA Refinance Program Termination Act✔ Yea

Key Vote 14: H.R. 830 - FHA Refinance Program Termination Act

The bill would eliminate the inefficient FHA Refinance Program, saving taxpayers $8 billion. This program, one of the T.A.R.P bailout programs, refinances underwater loans to the FHA, which by the government’s own admission transfers the risk on these bad investments to the taxpayer. This program should never have been created, as it is a clear violation of free market principles.

"Yea" votes scored.

15: H.R. 836 - To rescind the unobligated funding for the Emergency Mortgage Relief Program and to terminate the program✔ Yea

Key Vote 15: H.R. 836 - To rescind the unobligated funding for the Emergency Mortgage Relief Program and to terminate the program

The bill would end the Department of Housing & Urban Development’s Emergency Homeowners Relief Program, saving taxpayers $1 billion. The program provides high-loss mortgage loan subsidies to people who are very unlikely to be able to pay back the money, which merely delays the inevitable foreclosures and wastes taxpayers’ dollars.

"Yea" votes scored.

16: H.J.Res. 48 - Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2011, and for other purposes✔ Nay

Key Vote 16: H.J.Res. 48 - Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2011, and for other purposes

This bill contains a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government. Because the Senate has refused to pass a budget for three years, the government has been funded through these CR’s, continuing our unsustainable levels of deficit spending without even the transparency of the open budget process.

"Nay" votes scored.

17: H.R. 471 - Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act✔ Yea

Key Vote 17: H.R. 471 - Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act

This bill would reauthorize the Washington, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which provided school vouchers to allow parents in failing school districts to send their children to higher-quality schools of their choice. Congress ended this program in 2009 despite its overwhelming success.

"Yea" votes scored.

18: H.R. 910 - Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011✔ Yea

Key Vote 18: H.R. 910 - Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011

This bill, the “Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011”, would stop Obama's cap and trade scheme by completely stripping the EPA of its ability to use the 'Clean Air Act' to regulate greenhouse gases. This is important legislation that would take serious steps towards addressing high energy costs and ensuring America's energy security.

"Yea" votes scored.

19: H.J.Res. 37 - Disapproving of the rule submitted by the FCC with respect to regulating the Internet✔ Yea

Key Vote 19: H.J.Res. 37 - Disapproving of the rule submitted by the FCC with respect to regulating the Internet

H.J. Res 37 would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from imposing net neutrality regulations on Internet providers. These job-killing regulations would involve new government controls on the Internet that would have significant implications for investing in innovation and broadband deployment.

This substitute amendment would replace Paul Ryan's budget with the Republican Study Committee's alternative proposal, which would actually balance the federal budget in about a decade. Ryan's budget, while a step in the right direction, would not balance the budget until at least 2040 – far too slowly given the massive size of our nation’s debt.

This bill is Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget proposal for FY 2012. It would balance the federal budget by 2040 without raising taxes, and would cut $6.2 trillion over the next decade compared to President Obama’s budget. The plan reduces government spending to below 20 percent of GDP and block grants Medicaid to the states.

The bill would repeal mandatory funding provided to states in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) to establish American Health Benefit Exchanges. The Obama administration is already using this unlimited slush fund to seduce states into collaborating in the implementation of ObamaCare and has hinted at tapping it to bail out exploding state Medicaid budgets. H.R. 1213 would strike the unlimited direct appropriation and rescind any unobligated funds.

"Yea" votes scored.

23: H.R. 1229 - Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act✔ Yea

Key Vote 23: H.R. 1229 - Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act

The bill would amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to facilitate the production of American energy resources from the Gulf of Mexico. The Obama administration has delayed or canceled offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico. The bill would jumpstart offshore oil drilling by implementing a 30-day deadline in which the secretary of the U.S. Interior Department would have to make a decision on the Gulf of Mexico drilling permit applications.

"Yea" votes scored.

24: On Agreeing: H.Amdt.397 to H.R. 2017 - to reduce spending of the legislation by 10%✘ Nay

Key Vote 24: On Agreeing: H.Amdt.397 to H.R. 2017 - to reduce spending of the legislation by 10%

Key Vote 25: H.Amdt. 428 to H.R. 2112 - to cut $700 million dollars in waste to pay off the debt

This amendment to the “megabus” appropriations bill would reduce funding for the Economic Research Service by $43 million; reduce funding for the National Agriculture Statistical Service by $85 million; reduce funding for the Agriculture research service by $650 million; zero out the Food for Peace program and to apply the savings towards reducing the budget deficit.

"Yea" votes scored.

26: H.Amdt. 443 to H.R. 2112 - to cut $900 million in waste and apply to a spending reduction account✘ Nay

Key Vote 26: H.Amdt. 443 to H.R. 2112 - to cut $900 million in waste and apply to a spending reduction account

Key Vote 28: H.R. 2560 - Cut, Cap, and Balance Act

This is the “Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011”, which would cut total spending for FY2012 by $111 billion, cap total federal spending, and require the passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that includes a super-majority requirement to raise taxes and a limit on spending before the debt limit can be raised.

"Yea" votes scored.

29: H.Amdt. 715 to H.R. 2584 - to cut $3 billion and apply it to the spending reduction account✔ Yea

Key Vote 30: S. 365 - The Budget Control Act of 2011

This weak bill, the “Budget Control Act of 2011”, allows President Obama to raise the debt ceiling to over $16 trillion, in exchange for undetermined spending cuts to be decided by a "Super-Committee" picked from both parties. This committee is unlikely to be able to agree to any real spending cuts, and is allowed to use tax increases to create the necessary deficit reductions.

The bill would prohibit the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from ordering any employer to close, relocate or transfer employment under any circumstance. The Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act would help ensure that the government agency does not over step their bounds by dictating decisions made by private sector companies.

"Yea" votes scored.

32: On Passage: H.R. 2401 - To require analyses of the cumulative and incremental impacts of certain rules and actions of the EPA✔ Yea

Key Vote 32: On Passage: H.R. 2401 - To require analyses of the cumulative and incremental impacts of certain rules and actions of the EPA

This bill, the TRAIN Act, would establish an 11-member committee, chaired by the Department of Commerce, to analyze the impacts of a number of major Environment Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. This bill would push back against the EPA's unconstitutional, outrageous rules and regulations that raise energy prices for consumers, destroy jobs and increase our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

This bill was used as the vehicle for the Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government. Because the Senate has refused to pass a budget for three years, the government has been funded through these CR’s, continuing our unsustainable levels of deficit spending without even the transparency of the open budget process.

This would ratify the pending free trade agreement with South Korea. Freer trade will allow Americans to reap the benefits of competition, which include more choices, better products, and lower prices.

"Yea" votes scored.

38: H.R. 2832 - To extend the Generalized System of Preferences, and for other purposes✔ Nay

Key Vote 38: H.R. 2832 - To extend the Generalized System of Preferences, and for other purposes

This bill picks favorites among trading partners and disrupts the price system. The biggest problem is that an amendment to extend Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) at the current, higher post-stimulus levels is attached to the bill.

"Nay" votes scored.

39: H.R. 2250 - EPA Regulatory Relief Act✔ Yea

Key Vote 39: H.R. 2250 - EPA Regulatory Relief Act

The bill would help to curtail the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Boiler MACT regulations on boilers and industrial incinerators. Boiler MACT is an unreasonable regulation that would shut down businesses and cost thousands of jobs.

This bill, titled the “REINS Act” would require a vote in Congress on any “major” regulations issued by the executive branch before it could be enforced on the American people. The REINS Act would restore accountability and protect citizens’ rights by giving elected officials a voice in all major regulations issued.

2010: 111th Congress 94%

Key Vote 1: H.J.Res. 45 - Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act

This bill contains a more than $1 trillion increase in the federal debt ceiling. Raising the debt ceiling should be accompanied by measures to cut spending so that such an increase would not be necessary in future. Instead, this bill merely contains a "pay-as-you-go" procedure which Congress can easily ignore and which does nothing to address the current record spending levels.

The HIRE Act massively increases federal highway spending and other spending in order to supposedly stimulate the economy, operating under the Keynesian fallacy that a country can spend its way to prosperity. This bill will create few private sector jobs, while burdening our economy with still more deficit spending.

This resolution is the House "Rule" that would allow consideration of the "reconciliation" bill, H.R. 4872. The reconciliation bill would make the recently passed health care legislation even worse by enacting massive tax increases and creating still more new government bureaucracies in order to support it.

This is the vote on the final passage of ObamaCare. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act neither protects patients nor provides affordable care. It would kill jobs, drive up the price of health care, bankrupt the government, and ruin the world's best health care system. The bill also contains an unconstitutional individual mandate, which forces everyone to either purchase health care or pay a penalty, violating our individual liberty.

"Nay" votes scored. Double Score

5: H.R. 4872 - Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act✔ Nay

Key Vote 5: H.R. 4872 - Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act

The reconciliation bill makes the terrible health care legislation recently enacted even worse with more job killing tax hikes, harsher penalties, and new government bureaucracies. This bill also builds a massive new student loan bureaucracy by essentially nationalizing the student loan industry.

This key vote is on the motion to concur in Senate amendments. The reconciliation bill makes the terrible health care legislation recently enacted even worse with more job killing tax hikes, harsher penalties, and new government bureaucracies. The reconciliation bill also builds a massive new student loan bureaucracy by nationalizing the student loan industry.

"Nay" votes scored.

7: On Motion to Concur: H.R. 4213 - American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act✔ Nay

The American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010 contains several tax hikes that impose significant costs on businesses and threaten job creation. One undesirable tax increase included in the bill is the elimination of the punitive damages tax deduction. Another added tax increase is a new tax on carried interest.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act would impose new mandates, fees, and regulations on the nation's financial services sector and create a permanent $150 billion Wall Street bailout fund. Although it claims to prevent another financial meltdown like that of 2008, this bill actually institutionalizes the very financial practices and moral hazard that led to the crisi in the first place. It also creates a massive new regulatory apparatus with several agencies, such as the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), that have sweeping new powers but are generally unaccountable to Congress and the American public.

The Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010 would extend unemployment benefits to November 30th for the long-term jobless. It would not boost job growth and it would add to our skyrocketing national debt.

"Nay" votes scored.

10: On the Motion to Concur: H.R. 4899 - Making emergency supplemental appropriations for disaster relief and summer jobs☐ Did Not Vote

This would make emergency supplemental appropriations for disaster relief and summer jobs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes. This bill would add to our national debt.

This bill in its present form would authorize over $26 billion for an "education jobs fund", and would extend continue increased funding for the "Federal Medical Assistance Percentages" for Medicaid. The "pay-for" for this bill is a $9.6 billion tax increase, and even with the tax hike the bill would still add billions to our the nation's deficit spending.

"Nay" votes scored.

13: On Motion to Concur: H.R. 5297 - Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010✔ Nay

The Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010 would allocate $30 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to a new fund for financial institutions with less than $10 billion in assets. The legislation would also create a new $2 billion federal program to encourage states to develop initiatives to increase access to capital for small businesses.

This bill is the vehicle for reauthorizing the Bush 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, which were set to expire at the end of 2010. However, the bill would allow the tax cuts to expire for the wealthiest tiers of income earners - a bad policy at any time, but even worse at a time when the economy is recovering from a recession. The bill would also reinstate the death tax. Soaking the rich will not fund our excessive government spending, and will further harm a precariously shaky economy.

H.R. 3082 would fund the government for the next ten months at current 2010 levels. With Congress failing to pass any of the required 12 annual appropriation bills, leaders have opted to put forth a massive $1.1 trillion continuing resolution that includes a number of costly provisions.

This spending bill would double authorized funding levels for scientific research agencies within ten years. Research and development are best left to the academy and the marketplace, instead of allowing the government to potentially use taxpayer dollars to favor research that suits a political agenda.

The FDA Food "Safety" Modernization Act would grant the federal government unprecedented control over our diets while not making our food any safer. The bill imposes new regulations upon farmers and other food producers and also requires the government to hire a troop thousands of new bureaucrats to enforce the new rules. They will be funded by "such sums as may be necessary." Besides wasting taxpayer dollars directly, the cost of producers complying with these new regulations will simply be passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices. Outbreaks of food-borne illnesses have decreased dramatically in frequency in recent decades, and there is simply no need for such an intrusive and expensive new set of regulations on food safety.

H.R. 3082 would fund the government for the next ten months at current 2010 levels. With Congress failing to pass any of the required 12 annual appropriation bills, leaders have opted to put forth a massive $1.1 trillion continuing resolution that includes a number of costly provisions.

2009: 111th Congress 95%

Key Vote 1: H.R. 12 - Paycheck Fairness Act

The Paycheck Fairness Act would enforce more strictly the wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 in order to address a perceived wage "gender gap". Instead, its provisions are an invitation to increase lawsuits with no end in sight for compensation. We should not be heaping more financial burdens on our business institutions and taking away the power of employers to make sound personnel decisions - all because of a misunderstood statistic.

"Nay" votes scored.

2: H.R. 11 - Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act✔ Nay

Key Vote 2: H.R. 11 - Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

This bill would amend Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to permit discrimination claims against employers well outside of the current statute of 180 days. This presents a radical departure from current anti-discrimination laws. Doing away with any practical statute of limitations, which has been considered a just practice in courts for centuries, opens the flood gates to a river of frivolous lawsuits.

The $700 billion in Wall Street bailout funds authorized by TARP was a bad policy in its own right, and the actual use of those funds has been even more troubling. The "TARP Reform and Accountability Act" fails to adequately protect these taxpayer funds or safeguard how they are being used. This motion to recommit would have stopped the unused $350 billion in TARP funding from being spent at all, and would have forced the Treasury Department to submit a repayment plan for those bailout funds which have already been spent.

This legislation calls for spending an additional $33 billion over the next five years to expand coverage under the S-CHIP program. At a time when our nation is facing record-breaking deficits in the trillions of dollars, expanding autopilot spending programs should not be on the agenda.

This bill would create $787 billion in new government spending on projects designed to stimulate an economic recovery. It is neither the government's role, nor is it within its ability, to spend the economy into prosperity. This stimulus package merely spends a fortune in taxpayers' hard-earned money to give away to whatever special interests are best able to claim that they can "create jobs".

"Nay" votes scored.

6: H.R. 1105 - Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009✔ Nay

Key Vote 6: H.R. 1105 - Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009

This bill to fund the federal government contains a whopping 80 percent spending increase and is packed with earmarks and sweeping policy changes. Altogether, this omnibus bill increases government spending at more than double the rate of inflation and almost triple the rate of median growth in household incomes. With budget deficits already running at record highs, this bill just accelerates Washington's already out-of-control spending.

"Nay" votes scored.

7: H.R. 1106 - Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009✔ Nay

Key Vote 7: H.R. 1106 - Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009

This legislation allows bankruptcy judges to modify home mortgages - including reducing principal - rather than leaving those business decisions in the hands of the banks and lenders who own the homes. The act modifies the Hope for Homeowners program by removing the taxpayer protections in place, making it easier for those who took mortgages they could not afford to receive a taxpayer-funded bailout.

This amendment sought to remove all Davis-Bacon prevailing wage provisions from the 2009 water resources bill. Davis-Bacon is a leftover from the New Deal era which costs taxpayers billions of dollars each year because it requires government contractors to pay "local prevailing wages" for every project, which really means letting expensive union labor receive the contracts regardless of other competition.

Their budget taxes too much, spends too much, and borrows too much. And, potentially worst of all, it would open the door for socialized medicine and a massive energy tax to be enacted later this year without substantial debate through the reconciliation process.

"Nay" votes scored.

10: H.R. 2346 - Supplemental Appropriations, FY 2009✘ Yea

Key Vote 10: H.R. 2346 - Supplemental Appropriations, FY 2009

The bill includes a $100 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout. The bill contains funding for other projects that should not be used as a vehicle to ram IMF funding through Congress. Using this method to get the IMF funding passed is dirty Washington politics and law makers should reject it.

"Nay" votes scored.

11: On Motion to Concur: H.R. 1256 - Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act✔ Nay

This legislation marks a radical increase in power for the Food and Drug Administration over the tobacco industry, and another attempt by a parental government to make citizens' health choices for them.

The bill includes a $100 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout. The bill contains funding for other projects that should not be used as a vehicle to ram IMF funding through Congress. Using this method to get the IMF funding passed is dirty Washington politics and law makers should reject it.

The Waxman-Markey energy bill calls for a “cap-and-trade” system for the regulation of greenhouse gases, and is, in essence, a massive tax on all energy use. The resulting spike in energy costs would devastate the economy across the board, and would particularly harm lower-income individuals, who would have even less money to spend on steadily rising electric and heating bills.

This bill introduces federal control of employee compensation to a degree that is both constitutionally questionable and has no place in a market economy. Perhaps most startling about this bill is that the new mandates it establishes on the private sector are so broad and ill-defined that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is unable to determine just how much these rules will cost the economy, making it impossible to conduct a cost-benefit analysis.

The bill would essentially provide an endless line of credit to college students, as well as greatly increasing the amount given out through Pell Grants. Guaranteeing students access to free, easy loans on grants will encourage them to take on more debt that they cannot afford, while colleges will continue to raise their tuition to match the flow of government money. This bill further expands the massive student loan debt bubble, which - like the housing bubble before it - will eventually burst.

"Nay" votes scored.

16: H.R. 3962 - Affordable Health Care for America Act✔ Nay

Key Vote 16: H.R. 3962 - Affordable Health Care for America Act

(Note: this was the original version of ObamaCare, later passed as H.R. 3590.) This comprehensive government takeover of health care saddles hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes upon the American people. The bill contains an unconstitutional individual mandate forcing people to buy health insurance simply because they exist. Instead of making health care more affordable, this bill's mandates and regulations will massively increase the cost of everyone's health insurance and reduce the quality of care over time.

This bill contains the "doc fix" that Congress passes annually in order to keep Medicare payments to doctors from sharply decreasing. While the doc fix may be necessary in order to keep doctors from opting out of seeing Medicare patients, this bill would cost $200 billion over ten years, with no spending reforms to offset its huge expense. Separating this bill from the main comprehensive health care reform bill is thus a fundamentally dishonest attempt to hide the true costs of the massive health care takeover being discussed in Congress, and to kick the problem of Medicare reform down the road yet again.

While this bill claims to enact "permanent estate tax relief", the legislation puts in place a permanent 45 percent tax on estates over $3.5 million. A 45 percent tax is a dramatic tax increase over the zero percent death tax that will be in place in 2010, when death is scheduled to no longer be a taxable event.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, or so-called “minibus” would combine six of the seven remaining appropriations bills to fund nine Cabinet departments to the tune of $447 billion and $600 billion in funding for Medicare and Medicaid for a total of $1.1 trillion; a 13% increase over FY 2009 and a 25% increase over FY 2008.

This motion to recommit would have amended the Dodd-Frank bill to fully repeal the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and to reduce the national debt limit by an amount corresponding to the hundreds of billions that would be saved by TARP's repeal.

The "Dodd-Frank" bill not only fails in its stated goal of reining in the risky lending that led to the current fiscal crisis, it actually institutionalizes the practice of bailing out banks deemed to be "too big to fail". By telling Wall Street banks that irresponsible lending will be rewarded by government bailouts, this bill almost guarantees another financial bubble and collapse in the future.

2008: 110th Congress 100%

Key Vote 1: H.Amdt. 928 to H.R. 3524 - Prevents wage restrictions

This amendment would prevent funds in the bill from being used to fund Davis-Bacon Act wage requirements. The Davis-Bacon Act is an obsolete and destructive wage control program which requires that employees be paid at the "prevailing local wage". Because this prevailing wage is usually artificially set by unions, Davis Bacon essentially forces government contractors to hire more expensive union labor, wasting taxpayer dollars.

This motion, by Speaker Pelosi, would kill the Columbia Free Trade Agreement. Free trade encourages both imports and exports between countries, and creates wealth and jobs on both sides of the agreement.

"Nay" votes scored.

4: H.R. 5818 - Neighborhood Stabilization Act of 2008✔ Nay

Key Vote 4: H.R. 5818 - Neighborhood Stabilization Act of 2008

The bill, which provides $15 billion in loans and grants to states and cities to buy foreclosed properties, is a prime example of out-of-control government spending that would do little to address the underlying problems in the housing sector.

This amendment would impose a so-called "Patriot Tax" on upper income brackets. Raising taxes upon these high income brackets does great harm to the small business owners who are the engine for growth in America's economy.

The bill, a shallow attempt to rein in gas prices, is eerily reminiscent of the very policies that led to shortages and gas lines in the 1970s and early 1980s. It would over-regulate energy prices and prevent free market allocation.

Key Vote 9: H.R. 415 - To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

This bill's real purpose, while purporting to protect wildlife and natural scenery, is to prevent the installation of an efficient and environmentally beneficial natural gas terminal. This bill only hinders energy production and economic progress.

This bill creates more government interference in energy markets, essentially imposing a "use it or lose it" rule upon oil lands. This rule would make it nearly impossible for many oil-rich areas to be developed, which merely harms consumers and prevents the creation of jobs.

This is the final vote on the bill that provided a massive (up to $300 billion) bailout to the "Government Sponsored Entities" Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These two GSEs were in danger of bankruptcy because of their irresponsibly loose lending practices, and they should have been allowed to go bankrupt instead of putting taxpayers on the hook for their misbehavior. In addition, the bill contains an $800 billion increase in the debt ceiling.

"Nay" votes scored. Double Score

12: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass: H.R. 1108 - Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act✔ Nay

Key Vote 12: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass: H.R. 1108 - Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act

The House bill includes language that allows the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to impose new "user fees" to cover the costs of its expanded regulatory program. The user fee would no longer be a "fee for service' that covers the agency’s costs—it would be a new tax.

H.R. 6604 is a premature action by Congress to pin the current energy problem on commodities future traders rather than address the real problem of supply. The consequences of the legislation are greater intervention in markets and an expansion of government into the reach of private contracts.

This bill is a vehicle for the massive government bank bailout, including the Troubled Assets Relief Program (T.A.R.P.). Bailing out banks that have made bad investments distorts the free market by creating a 'moral hazard'. If banks know that the government will bail them out of their bad decisions just because they are "too big to fail", they have no incentive to make wise investment decisions. FreedomWorks has double-weighted votes against this bill.

This bill would provide a $700 billion bailout for the financial industry. FreedomWorks strongly opposes this bill because it rewards those institutions which caused the financial collapse in the first place by making reckless loans. Bailing them out creates the moral hazard that these banks and lenders will recognize that they can continue to make risky loans without fear of consequences as long as they are "too big to fail".

This legislation would provide $14 billion in taxpayer loans to eligible U.S. automakers. Like T.A.R.P., this bailout would create moral hazard for the failing car companies. This bill picks winners and losers, while the market should be allowed to adjust to changes.

2007: 110th Congress 90%

Key Vote 1: H.R. 2 - Fair Minimum Wage Act

The Fair Minimum Wage Act would allow for an increase in the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour over two years. According to CBO estimates, a minimum wage increase would saddle small businesses with up to $7 billion in added costs.

"Nay" votes scored.

2: H.R. 800 - The Employee Free Choice Act✔ Nay

Key Vote 2: H.R. 800 - The Employee Free Choice Act

This is the "Card Check Bill," which will make it easier for unions to unionize workers in the private sector. It will eliminate most of the secrecy in union balloting, allowing union intimidation of workers.

This bill would amend the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 to force shareholder review of executive compensation, which would open the door for increased federal intrusion into the private sector. Although transparency in executive compensation is necessary, many shareholders already have this privilege under their company’s bylaws.

This legislation would make it a federal crime to sell crude oil, gas, natural gas or petroleum at a price that is “unconscionably excessive” or “takes unfair advantage” of unordinary market conditions. This legislation mandates severe fines for any violations including market manipulation, false price reporting and unconscionable prices.

"Nay" votes scored.

5: H.R. 3043 - Making appropriations for the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education✔ Nay

Key Vote 5: H.R. 3043 - Making appropriations for the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education

This $607 million spending bill will end up costing $152 million in 2008 thus exceeding the president’s budget by more than $10 million. In addition, it would spend $7 million more than the current levels and more than $2.3 million more than the Senate version. In addition to exceeding the budget, this bill is also loaded with pork projects and represents the out of control spending going on in Congress.

Funded by a $0.45 increase in the federal cigarette excise tax and a nearly 200% raise in taxes on cigars, the SCHIP reauthorization proposal calls for up to $50 billion in new funds for the program, dwarfing the President’s current request of $5 billion over 5 years. In addition to greatly expanding a program that was originally designed to be a limited contribution to State health services, this bill would be a giant step toward government controlled health care.

This bill would authorize over $43 billion over 3 years to fund at least 40 new federal programs for various agencies including the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Science and Technology, and the Departments of Commerce, Education and Energy. The size and scope of the funding that emerged from the conference report drastically exceeds the original House version where $23 billion was allocated for 20 new programs. It not only represents the reckless spending that has come to characterize Congress, but also is a drastic and irresponsible expansion of the size of government.

This amendment to the “New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act” would create a mandate requiring the use of renewable portfolio standard for generating electricity starting in 2010 with the goal of forcing electric utilities to produce 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020. Energy providers who did not comply would be penalized by being forced to purchase renewable energy from other generators in the form of utility credits or pay the difference to the federal government.

The bill would hit our energy suppliers with billions of dollars in new taxes. New taxes on oil and its providers will only lead to increased cost of production which will be passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices on gas, natural gas and electric utilities. Even though alternative energy holds promise for the future, federal mandates and taxes will not make the technology viable any faster. All that this bill will do is increase taxes and the price of fuel for the consumer.

This legislation calls for spending $33 billion over the next five years to expand coverage of the S-CHIP program. S-CHIP would be a massive increase in health care entitlements, and only exacerbates the underlying problem of increasing health care costs and reliance upon third-party payers in health care. It will also cost tens of billions of dollars at a time when the government is already incurring massive, unsustainable deficits. The bill, as passed, would vastly expand government controlled health care coverage to cover individuals up to 300% above the poverty line.

This legislation would add layers of bureaucracy to a situation already bogged down in government regulations and mismanagement. Not only does the act duplicate the efforts of the existing HUD department, at the same time the trust would compete with HUD for already limited funds. Whereas the government needs to be streamlining and modernizing a department, H.R. 2895 creates an increasingly complex web of uncertain funding and extraneous administration, making this act, in essence, the appendix of the housing conundrum.

This bill calls for $50 billion in new funding for the program that far exceeds the $5 billion requested by the President. In addition to greatly expanding a program that was originally designed to be a limited contribution to State health services, this bill would be a giant step toward government controlled health care.

"Nay" votes scored.

13: H.R. 505 - Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act✔ Nay

Key Vote 13: H.R. 505 - Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act

This bill would provide a process for the reorganization of a Native Hawaiian governing body and reaffirm the “special political and legal relationship between the United States” and the governing body. According to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the 2000 case of Rice v. Cayetano, any preferential treatment that the native Hawaiian population enjoys runs contrary to the 15th Amendment’s protection against racial discrimination.

This bill calls for $50 billion in new funding for the program that far exceeds the $5 billion requested by the President. In addition to greatly expanding a program that was originally designed to be a limited contribution to State health services, this bill would be a giant step toward government controlled health care.

This bill would permanently ban taxation of the Internet, which would encourage the free dissemination of technology and information. If the Internet were allowed to be taxed, then it could also be regulated. This would result not only in an additional tax on consumers, businesses, and schools, but also could open the door to censorship.

"Yea" votes scored.

16: H.R. 1495 - Water Resources Development Act✘ Yea

Key Vote 16: H.R. 1495 - Water Resources Development Act

This water projects bill is bloated with over 900 special-interest earmarks, which far exceeds the $4.9 billion requested by the Army Corps of Engineers. The bill does not set any priorities and would result in funding for truly essential projects, like protections in Louisiana against future hurricanes, being drowned out in a sea of pork.

"Nay" votes scored.

17: H.R. 3688 - United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement✔ Yea

Key Vote 17: H.R. 3688 - United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement

This amendment would reduce tariffs for 80% of U.S. consumer and industrial exports to Peru and would phase out the remaining tariffs over the next ten years. Free trade not only drives the efficiency of the global economy, but is also essential to the freedom of American citizens to buy and sell legal goods without government interference.

"Yea" votes scored.

18: H.R. 3996 - Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007✔ Nay

Key Vote 18: H.R. 3996 - Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007

While providing tax relief for some, this bill contains a tax increase on carried interest and private equity, expatriates, and deferred compensation. Additionally, H.R. 3996 would delay another tax cut for 8 years, which essentially amounts to a tax increase.

This bill imposes unnecessary regulations and exposes lenders to increased liability, which will have the net effect of making mortgage loans harder to get for many Americans. Although mortgage reform is necessary, H.R. 3915 fails to set clear guidelines for lending companies and opens the door for lawsuit abuse.

"Nay" votes scored.

20: H.Amdt. 890 to H.R. 3355 - Omnibus Spending Bill✔ Yea

Key Vote 20: H.Amdt. 890 to H.R. 3355 - Omnibus Spending Bill

This bill contains more than 8,000 earmarks for special-interest projects. In addition to the large amount of earmarks, the bill also contains several budget gimmicks designed to hide the addition $14 billion in unnecessary Congressional spending.

Key Vote 4: H.R. 5429 - American-Made Energy and Good Jobs Act

The American Made Energy and Good Jobs Act would privately develop domestic oil reserves. This is a critical step in the long term strategy of reducing American dependence on foreign sources of energy and of developing low-cost energy in this country.

An amendment to prohibit any of the funds in the bill from being used for the Institute for Exploration at Mystic Aquarium in New London, Connecticut. This is an unnecessary program that the federal government should not be involved in.

"Yea" votes scored.

8: H.R. 4890 - Legislative Line Item Veto Act✔ Yea

Key Vote 8: H.R. 4890 - Legislative Line Item Veto Act

H.R. 4890 would give the President the authority to isolate unnecessary or wasteful spending provisions in bills that have passed Congress and send these specific line items back to Congress for a timely up-or-down vote. This would allow for greater control over spending.

This legislation moves the United States closer to the goal of creating a region-wide Middle East free trade area by 2013. An agreement with Oman would mark the fifth such nation in the Middle East with open trade ties to the United States. Free trade agreements allow Americans to buy and sell goods in more markets.

2005: 109th Congress 82%

Key Vote 1: S. 5 - Class Action Fairness Act of 2005

S. 5 is a major step towards stopping lawsuit abuse by limiting venue shopping by trial lawyers. Unscrupulous attorneys often bring cases to a handful of state ‘tort hellholes’ where judges and juries consistently produce unreasonable awards with national economic impact. This new legislation would move the largest cases to federal courts, where judges are better equipped to consider the national scope of each case.

The amendment would reduces spending by 2% compared to last year's level (the Budget Committee calls for a .7% reduction), which is over $5.1 billion more in first-year savings than the Committee's bill. It includes reconciliation instructions reducing the rate of growth of mandatory spending from 6.4% to 6.1%.

Key Vote 6: H.R. 22 - Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act

This bill fails to bring the market discipline the postal system needs and acts as yet another taxpayer bailout of the Postal Service. The US Postal Service desperately needs reform, but H.R. 22 is not reform.

Key Vote 14: H.R. 1606 - Online Freedom of Speech Act

H.R. 1606 would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act to exclude Internet communications from the Act’s definition of “public communication.” The bill is commonly regarded as the “blogger protection” bill since it addresses concerns that bloggers who regularly engage in mass public communications will become subject to federal campaign finance regulations—- especially if they reference a federal candidate 30 days before a primary election or 60 days before a general election. Of course, all restrictions on speech content offend the Constitution, but protecting bloggers will be a good first step.

"Yea" votes scored.

15: H.R. 4128 - Private Property Rights Protection Act✔ Yea

Key Vote 15: H.R. 4128 - Private Property Rights Protection Act

This bill would curb eminent domain abuse by withholding federal economic development funds from states and localities that engage in eminent domain abuse. Limiting the government's ability to enforce eminent domain will protect private property from government overreach.